Golf ball pick up device



Aug. T. B. RUSSELL GOLF BALL PICK UP mavxca I Original Fild Aug; 22. 1966 bf x 7.,

FIG!

' FIG. 3

INVENTOR.

THEOLXJQE B. RUSSELL.

/W6 aeaw United States Patent O 3,462,184 GOLF BALL PICK UP DEVICE Theodore B. Russell, 2190 NE. 124th St., North Miami, Fla. 33161 Original application Aug. 22, 1966, Ser. No. 574,061, now

Patent No. 3,401,970. Divided and this application June 13, 1968, Ser. No. 736,772

Int. Cl. B253 15/00 U.S. Cl. 294-19 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A golf ball pick up device for the handle of a golf club, preferably the putter. The device includes a cup made of resiliently flexible material, such as rubber or plastic. applied directly to the handle of the putter, and a pair of loops of resilient Wire having bases embedded in the material of the cup and projecting from the closed end of the cup in spaced parallel relation. By manipulating the putter, the loops can be engaged over a golf ball to facilitate picking it up.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This application is divided from copending application Ser. No. 574,061 filed Aug. 22, 1966, now U.S. Patent 3,401,970, by the present inventor.

The game of golf involves a great deal of bending over to pick up the golf ball. For some people, particularly those with certain ailments, the bending is difiicult and to be avoided, and for others it would be convenient if the bending could be eliminated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A golf ball pick up device is proposed which can be attached directly to the handle of a golf club and manipulated without bending over so as to engage wire loops of the device over a golf ball so that the ball can be lifted by lifting the club. The loops are supported parallel to each other by a cup of resilient material such as rubber or plastic, and the cup fits directly on the handle of the club. The cup may be a built in portion of the handle. Each loop is generally U-shaped and has two legs curved to conform to the ball and a crossing portion interconnecting the leg portions. The bases of the leg portions are embedded in the cup, and the leg portions project from the closed end of the cup with those of opposite loops curving in an opposite sense. The bases of the legs may be inserted into the cup, but preferably the cup is molded around the leg bases.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters design-ate corresponding parts in the several views.

On the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a putter with a golf ball pick up device in accordance with the invention attached to its handle,

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of the device,

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view showing how the wire loops of the device may be clamped on to a golf ball,

FIGURE 4 is a bottom plan view taken along line 4-4 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view showing a modification of the device.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and 3,462,184 Patented Aug. 19, 1969 of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

As shown on the drawings:

Referring first to FIGURE 1, there is shown a putter 10 with the handle 12 inverted from the normal position, and with a golf ball pick up device 14 attached directly to the handle 12. The device 14 includes a pair of resilient wire loops 1-6 and 18 which have been engaged over a golf ball 20 to hold the ball so that the ball can be lifted out of the hole 22 by lifting the putter 10.

The pick up device 14 is shown in more detail in FIG- URES 2, 3 and 4. It includes a cup 24 in the nature of a crutch tip, which supports the two wire loops 16 and 18 in spaced, generally parallel relation with each other. The cup 24 is made of resilient flexible material such as rubber or plastic. The cup has a cylindrical recess opening on the inside thereof and a closed end 26. The inside dimensions of the cup are such that the cup fits snugly on the handle 12 of the putter with the material of the cup expanding very slightly so that the cup hugs the handle 12 and is therefore maintained securely in place on the handle.

Referring to FIGURE 3, it may be seen that each wire loop such as 16 is generally U-shaped and includes two leg portions 28 and a crossing portion 30 interconnecting the leg portions. Both the leg portions 28 and the crossing portions 30 are curved to conform closely to the shape of a golf ball. The crossing portion 30 is spaced far enough from the bottom 26 of cup 24 so that the crossing portion 30 is below the center of the golf ball as viewed in FIG- URE 3, and thus holds the ball securely.

The leg portions 28 of each wire loop have bases 32 which are embedded in the material of cup 24, and the remainder of the leg portions 28 project from the closed end 26 of the cup. It may be seen in FIGURE 2 that the leg portions 28 of opposed loops 16 and 18 curve in an opposite sense so as to receive the ball snugly. The loops 16 and 18 are spaced apart a distance less than the diameter of the ball, and they spread apart when they are engaged over a ball to clamp the ball between them. The crossing portions 30 of the wire loops 16 and 18 are preferably about as long as the diameter of cup 24 at its end. Thus, the loops will not tend to :get stuck when the putter is put into the golf bag.

In FIGURES 2 and 3, the bases 32 of the leg portions 28 are straight so that they may be inserted into holes formed in the cup 24 to assemble the pick up device. The holes might be slightly smaller than bases 32 so that the cup grips the bases.

Alternatively, the material of the cup 24 may be molded about the bases of the wire loops. When this is done, the construction shown in FIGURE 5 is preferred wherein the ends 32a of the bases 32 are bent at right angles to the bases to anchor the loops in the cup 24. Otherwise, the embodiment of FIGURE 5 is indentical to that of FIG- URES 2, 3 and 4, and the same numbers are used to identify like parts.

It is also possible for the cut to be a built in portion of the handle of a golf club, particularly the putter. In this case, the manufacturer of the golf club simply fabricates the handle of the putter so that the handle includes the cup 24 at the end thereof with the wire loops projecting from it.

Although the device is most useful on the putter, it may be used on say a 7, 8 or 9 iron which is being used for chipping or pitching practice.

It is apparent from the foregoing description that an effective and easily manufactured golf ball pick up device has been provided. The device attaches directly to the handle of a putter, and does not interfere with the normal use of the putter because it is light and only large enough to engage a golf bal.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A golf ball pick up device for the handle of a golf club comprising, a pair of generally U-shaped loops of resilient wire that are arcuate and adapted to clamp on opposite sides of a golf ball, said loops each including curved leg portions conforming to the shape of a golf ball and also including a crossing portion interconnecting said leg portions, said leg portions having bases at the ends thereof opposite said crossing portion, and a cup made of resiliently flexible material for use on the handle of a golf club, said bases of said legs being embedded in the material of said cup and said loops projecting in spaced generally parallel relation from the closed end of said cup with said curved legs opposite each other and curving toward each other, said cup being molded integrally about said bases of said legs and consisting of a material selected from the group consisting of rubber and plastic, whereby said loops extend longitudinally away from said handle and can be clamped on a golf ball by manipulation of the golf club to pick up the ball.

2. The golf ball pick up device as claimed in claim 1 in which said material of said cup is rubber.

3. The golf ball pick up device as claimed in claim 1 in which said material of said cup is plastic.

4. The golf ball pick up device as claimed in claim 1 in which said bases of said legs have portions directed angularly from the remainder of said legs for anchoring said bases in said cup.

5. A golf ball pick up device for attachment directly to the handle of a putter golf club and useful to pick up golf balls without interfering with the normal use of the putter, said device comprising a cup in the nature of a crutch tip and made of resiliently flexible material With inside dimensions enabling said cup to fit snugly on the handle of the putter, and a pair of generally U-shaped loops of resilient strands supported by said cup in generally parallel relation with each other and spaced apart sufliciently to enable said loops to be spread to engage over a golf ball to retain the ball between the same, each of said loops including two curved leg portions conforming generally to the shape of a golf ball and a crossing portion interconnecting said leg portions, said crossing portions being spaced apart a distance less than the diameter of a golf ball, the leg portions of one loop being respectively opposite the leg portions of the other loop and curved toward each other and in an opposite sense enabling said loops to hold a golf ball, and said leg portions having bases embedded in the material of said cup with said leg portions projecting from the closed end of the cup, so that when the cup is applied to said putter handle said loops extend longitudinally away from said handle and can be engaged over a golf ball by manipulation of the putter to press the crossing portions on the golf ball and thereby pick up the ball.

6. The device as claimed in claim 5 in which said crossing portion of each said loop is no longer than the diameter of said cup at the closed end thereof.

7. The golf ball pick up device as claimed in claim 5 in which said cup is molded integrally about said bases of said loops and consists of a material selected from the group consisting of rubber and plastic.

8. The golf ball pick up device as claimed in claim 7 in which said bases of said legs have portions directed angularly from the remainder of said legs for anchoring said bases in said cup.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,658,785 11/1953 Jones 294-l9.1 2,681,822 6/1954 Daniels 294-99 2,801,875 8/1957 McEvoy 29499 2,968,509 1/1961 Borah 29419.1

ANDRES H. NIELSEN, Primary Examiner 

